Sente 6.5 Private Preview Coming

I am writing to tell you about the next major release of Sente, which we are labeling Sente 6.5.

Why 6.5 instead of 6.3 or 7.0? It is not 6.3 because it is a big update; much bigger than most of our "point releases." It is not 7.0 because it will be a free upgrade to everyone with a Sente 6 license.

So, what's so big about Sente 6.5?

Well, first, it will be the biggest update to the user interface since our first release. We have taken a close look at all aspects of the core Sente user interface and we are reworking almost everything. The new version looks better and works better than any previous version of Sente. I love working with the new interface and I think others will, as well. There will still be areas of the UI that need some attention, and we will be looking at these in later releases, but the parts you use on a daily basis will be much improved in 6.5.

Second, Sente 6.5 will make important improvements to some common workflows, like PDF import. There are some relatively common tasks that have always been less efficient in Sente than they should be. We will be addressing several of these in 6.5.

Third, Sente 6.5 will have a completely new user manual. WIth all the changes to the software, even experienced users may find the new manual helpful. New users will definitely find it easier to learn to use Sente with this new manual.

There are some other important features that I will be discussing later, but I hope this is enough information to pique your curiosity, because this is the part where I ask for your help.

If you are a long-time Sente user who is willing to try out early releases and to give us feedback, we would like to give you early access to Sente 6.5. We will want you to try out the new interface and to tell us what you think about it. We will eventually open up the previews to everyone, but first we want to hear from our most experienced users; those users who depend on Sente on a daily basis to get real work done. If the transition to the new interface is not successful for you, it is unlikely to be successful for others.

So, if you have been using Sente for at least six months, and preferably for several years, and if you are willing to spend some time trying out pre-release software (and you understand the critical importance of maintaining good backups at all times!), and you are willing to commit to telling us your thoughts and reactions to the new software, we would like to hear from you.

We want the eventual release of Sente 6.5 to be our most successful ever. And because so much about the application is changing, we want to make sure that problems and omissions are caught during the preview period and not after the release. This all begins with our initial private preview period where we hear from our most loyal users.

We expect the private preview period to last less than two months. After that, we will open up the previews to everyone.

If you meet the requirements listed above, and would like to try the first preview in a few weeks when it first become available, please create a new, private support thread with your name, email address and a few words about your use of Sente. I will respond with additional details.

Michael

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13 Comments

These are exciting news! As someone who is on the fence to switch over from Papers for quite some time now (and the release of papers2 has made this easier), I am excited to see the preview of 6.5 when it goes public. Do you have any indications yet when you are planning to release 6.5?

The timing is not firm -- it depends on what we learn from the previews. I would like to see a late summer release, but we will wait until we are confident that users can make the switch without losing anything they depend on in the current version. The good news is that once we make the public previews available, anyone can start using it immediately, and switch back freely. This means that many people will be able to switch over quite a bit before the official release. (I already spend much more time using the new version, but I occasionally have to switch back to do something that not yet supported in the new version.)

I have been a Sente user for at least a year, and, overall, I really love the product. I use it primarily for organizing research literature I read, and for entering citations in papers I write. I also use it extensively on the ipad for reading papers, although I am not so enamored with the .pdf interface on the ipad. I have been thinking for some time of writing and suggesting some changes, so I was pleasantly surprised when I read about 6.5 to see that you may be working on some of them already.

I am interested in evaluating 6.5, but don't know how to create a private support thread, please let me know and I'll provide the information you have requested - name, email, etc.

Per the instructions, I submitted a private ticket on the 6th. I've been using Sente for over a year (even convinced my department to get a volume license). Finished a book and four journal articles with this app. Working on another book right now, not to mention all the conference papers. I also do most of my research within the app. As such, it's always open on my iMac at the office, my MacBook Pro at home, and my iPad2 when I'm on the go.

I have been using Sente for over a year to write my dissertation. I am used to beta testing, I do that for Nisus Writer Pro, Mellel and DragonDictate. I would be happy to do testing with Sente as well. I use TimeMachine regularly so backups are no issue. I work on both a laptop and an iMac if that is of any help. Cheers!

on the right track! .... am seriously considering switching over to Sente after being a long time user of Papers. Functionally, Sente appears far better! only thing that's been keeping me back is the interface of Papers2, which has been much easier to navigate with.

i'd be happy to test out Sente's new interface and advise on how to improve it and make it easier to navigate in (hints:... use of tabs, tag implementation, label highlight implementation in lists, supplements, inspector window, web browsing etc...).

A bit late to the party here, but I'm very much looking forward to 6.5. I'm wondering: Are there any plans to boost the choice of criteria for smart collections? I'd love to be able to collect all my references that have notes (i.e. where the Notes field is not empty), since I only add notes to references that are important to my work. If this feature were accompanied with more options in Recent (at least bringing them in line with the choices on the iPad), it would be a big help for more flexible browsing on the Mac.

This is a great news! I'm wondering if Export-Note-to-DevonThink function has become inbuilt. There's a script for it (see the link below), but this method is way too technical for me to manage. There seems to be a big interest from the Sente community in this functionality, so it would be great if this feature became built into Sente 6.5.

I am not using Sente right now but have been on the hedge for quite a while now. The iPad features I am really looking for are:
- print to Sente as pdf from any app
- import from box.net, dropbox, Evernote (with OCR), photo library, and email attachments.
- Upload pdf doc from web directly in Sente

It seems that many academics are using Sente with DevonThink. Sente atomic note capability with quotation is a real hedge when compared to its close competitor. A closer integration with Devonthink would be a great differentiator. The desktop app would be great with:
- OCR / scan capability
- API connector to Devonthink Pro (could be used both way, to import OCRed pdf into Sente)
- better import capabilities as noted above.
- Self-tagging when dropping pdf/reference in any smart folders

I should add that the tagging hierarchy is brillant and the cloud synch cutting hedge at a time when even Apple iOS5 is weaning iPad from desktop based iTune. The atomic note capability puts Sente ahead.

I look forward to 6.5 to switch.

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About this Entry

This page contains a single entry by Michael published on June 28, 2011 12:18 PM.